For a background knowledge of decorative lighting devices, reference may be made to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,410,336; 2,714,652; 2,794,284; 4,234,915; 4,591,959; 5,222,802; 5,274,537; 5,309,333; 5,359,506; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 215,304.
There are many seasons when one would like to decorate a home in an appropriate and individualistic way, as by stringing lights in the front yard, for example. If there are trees in front of the house, one might want to have lighted figurines in the form of seasonal characters which appear to be floating in among the branches. In another example, the house may have a permanent ground lighting system as a safety feature around stairs, a walk way, or the like, which can be used in connection with providing a decorative system according to the present invention.
One might wish to coordinate these and other decorations. For example, one can imagine the figurines of Santa Clause, reindeer, and sleigh high in a tree with figurines of toy soldiers, candy canes, and the like on the ground. From the manufacturer's view point, it is desirable to have a stream of sales continuing from year to year, perhaps Santa Clause this year, reindeer next year, for Christmas, or jack-o-lanterns this year, ghosts next year, and skeletons the following year, for Halloween. Hence, the manufacturer wants a flexible system which may be expanded with new features as time goes by. Still another consideration is the safety features provided by outdoor lighting which may be exposed to almost any kind of weather ranging from ice and snow through drenching rain to summer heat. The various electrical fittings, couplers for mounting the light, and the like should be resistant to these and other weather related problems. These features should be available with a great variety of light bulbs, and both low voltage and commercial voltages.